1913 Quarter Eagle Indian (1913 $2.50 Indian) NGC MS61. Bright mint luster flashes from within the devices of this mint state 1913 Quarter Eagle Indian. Abrasion marks in front of the Indian’s face and a few light scratches on both sides keep this coin from a higher mint state grade. The strike is average on both sides.

President Theodore Roosevelt, strongly influenced by an art connoisseur friend, agreed to have the new designs for the quarter and half eagles incused. He felt a new look was need to transform American coinage, and he also felt that the Engraver, Charles Barber, was incapable of anything but banality. Consequently, Roosevelt agreed to allow Bela Lyon Pratt, a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens, design the new coinage. When it came out, it was criticized as being unsuitable for commerce because it couldn’t stack, prone to being counterfeited, and unsanitary because of its incuse design.

The sizable mintage of this coin makes it suitable for a type set of gold coins or a Twentieth Century type set.